Yes, in some Illinois residential foreclosure cases, you can ask the court to send the case to mediation, but the answer is usually local and procedural rather than automatic. The strongest current guidance I found comes from local court materials in the 17th Judicial Circuit and Cook County, which both describe ways a party in a pending residential foreclosure case can request mediation or ask the court to refer the matter into a mediation program PART 2.00 Judicial AdministrationMortgage Foreclosure ProgramPart 21 – Chancery Division Court-Annexed Mediation | Circuit Court of Cook County.
That means two homeowners in different counties may have different steps to follow even if their cases are both pending. In one circuit, the judge may refer the case on the court’s own motion; in another, the homeowner may need to file a written motion or use the court’s request process PART 2.00 Judicial AdministrationPart 21 – Chancery Division Court-Annexed Mediation | Circuit Court of Cook County. If you are trying to keep a foreclosure case moving toward a possible resolution, the first thing to confirm is whether your circuit has a local program and what filing it requires PART 2.00 Judicial AdministrationMortgage Foreclosure ProgramPart 21 – Chancery Division Court-Annexed Mediation | Circuit Court of Cook County.
If your foreclosure case is already pending, start by confirming the local rule or program that applies in your county. EV Häs, LLC Attorney at Law can help you think through the process and what the court may require next.
A foreclosure case does not move by guesswork. Once the case is filed and pending, the court system controls many of the next steps, and local rules can determine whether mediation is available at all PART 2.00 Judicial AdministrationPart 21 – Chancery Division Court-Annexed Mediation | Circuit Court of Cook County. In the materials I reviewed, the 17th Judicial Circuit says a party to a pending residential foreclosure case may ask the court by motion to enter the mediation program, and the judge may also do so on the court’s own motion PART 2.00 Judicial AdministrationMortgage Foreclosure Program. Cook County’s Chancery Division materials likewise describe a request process for mediation in a pending residential mortgage foreclosure case Part 21 – Chancery Division Court-Annexed Mediation | Circuit Court of Cook County.
The important point is that foreclosure mediation in Illinois is not presented in these sources as a single statewide automatic right that applies the same way everywhere. Instead, the procedure depends on the circuit’s local program and the case posture PART 2.00 Judicial AdministrationPart 21 – Chancery Division Court-Annexed Mediation | Circuit Court of Cook County. That is why a homeowner should not assume that one county’s form or hearing practice will work in another county.
If you are reading a local foreclosure-mediation notice, pay close attention to whether it speaks in terms of a motion, a request, an opt-in form, or a courtroom announcement. Those details matter because the local court materials describe the method of asking, not just the possibility of asking PART 2.00 Judicial AdministrationMortgage Foreclosure ProgramPart 21 – Chancery Division Court-Annexed Mediation | Circuit Court of Cook County.
In the sources I found, the request generally starts with a filed motion or a local request form in a case that is already pending PART 2.00 Judicial AdministrationMortgage Foreclosure ProgramPart 21 – Chancery Division Court-Annexed Mediation | Circuit Court of Cook County. The 17th Judicial Circuit page says the forms may be used to ask the court to refer a case to mediation, and its rule says any party to a pending residential foreclosure case may ask the court by motion PART 2.00 Judicial AdministrationMortgage Foreclosure Program. Cook County’s Chancery Division rule similarly says a party requesting mediation in a pending residential mortgage foreclosure mediation case must present a written motion to the court Part 21 – Chancery Division Court-Annexed Mediation | Circuit Court of Cook County.
That means your request should match the court’s own language as closely as possible. If the court provides a form, use it. If the rule calls for a motion, file a motion. If the court directs parties to ask the courtroom clerk or judge in an existing case, follow that instruction and do not assume a different county uses the same method Mortgage Foreclosure ProgramPart 21 – Chancery Division Court-Annexed Mediation | Circuit Court of Cook County.
Gather the complaint, summons, recent notices, and any court dates you already have. A clear record helps you see whether a request for mediation is timely and how the case is currently set in court.
Before you ask for referral, confirm three things: whether your case is residential, whether it is already pending, and whether your circuit has a foreclosure-mediation program or local rule that applies PART 2.00 Judicial AdministrationMortgage Foreclosure ProgramPart 21 – Chancery Division Court-Annexed Mediation | Circuit Court of Cook County. Those details can control whether the court will accept your request and how the request should be presented. If the case is not yet in the posture described by the local rule, the court may not treat the request the same way.
Timing matters because local foreclosure programs are tied to a case that is already pending, and the court language I found centers on that status PART 2.00 Judicial AdministrationMortgage Foreclosure ProgramPart 21 – Chancery Division Court-Annexed Mediation | Circuit Court of Cook County. If the case has moved into a later stage, the local process may still allow a request, but the court may expect the motion or form to be filed in a specific way and at a specific time. If the case is new, the question may be whether the program is available yet rather than whether mediation is possible at all.
The practical lesson is to look at the docket before you act. If there is already a pending case number, hearing date, or recent court order, the safest path is to align your request with the local rule and ask for the referral in the manner that court recognizes PART 2.00 Judicial AdministrationPart 21 – Chancery Division Court-Annexed Mediation | Circuit Court of Cook County.
Cook County’s Chancery Division mediation materials are especially clear that a party requesting mediation in a pending residential mortgage foreclosure mediation case must present a written motion to the court Part 21 – Chancery Division Court-Annexed Mediation | Circuit Court of Cook County. Those materials also say mortgage foreclosure cases may be referred for mediation, and the county’s foreclosure-mediation pages describe asking the courtroom clerk or judge if the case is already in court Part 21 – Chancery Division Court-Annexed Mediation | Circuit Court of Cook County.
So if your case is in Cook County, do not rely on a general assumption that speaking at a hearing is enough. Check the current Chancery Division guidance and match the filing method the court requires. If there is a local form or motion requirement, that is the step that gives the judge a clean basis to consider referral Part 21 – Chancery Division Court-Annexed Mediation | Circuit Court of Cook County.
The 17th Judicial Circuit materials say homeowners with a pending foreclosure case may opt in to the program, and the court’s rule says any party to a pending residential foreclosure case may ask the court by motion to be entered into the mediation program PART 2.00 Judicial AdministrationMortgage Foreclosure Program. The same materials also say the judge may enter the case into mediation on the court’s own motion PART 2.00 Judicial AdministrationMortgage Foreclosure Program.
That gives the homeowner two practical routes in the same circuit: ask for referral yourself, or wait for the court to raise it on its own. But because the source language still centers on a pending case and the court’s motion process, the safer approach is to be ready to file or present the request if the case qualifies PART 2.00 Judicial AdministrationMortgage Foreclosure Program.
If your foreclosure is in Boone or Winnebago County, use the circuit’s own foreclosure-mediation materials and do not assume another county’s form or practice will be accepted. The local rule is the point of contact between the general idea of mediation and the actual case on the docket PART 2.00 Judicial AdministrationMortgage Foreclosure Program.
If you want the court to send your pending foreclosure case to mediation, your next move is usually practical rather than complicated: confirm the local rule, confirm the case status, and prepare the motion or request the circuit requires PART 2.00 Judicial AdministrationMortgage Foreclosure ProgramPart 21 – Chancery Division Court-Annexed Mediation | Circuit Court of Cook County. If you already have an upcoming hearing, bring the local materials with you and be ready to ask whether the court’s procedure allows referral.
If the paperwork is unclear, do not guess. A missing motion, the wrong form, or the wrong filing step can delay the request. The local materials I reviewed support a written motion or equivalent request in the circuits discussed, but they also show that the exact process can differ by county PART 2.00 Judicial AdministrationPart 21 – Chancery Division Court-Annexed Mediation | Circuit Court of Cook County.
For Illinois homeowners, the best strategy is to treat mediation as a court procedure with local rules, not as a general conversation with the lender. If you want help thinking through the next step, contact EV Häs, LLC Attorney at Law to discuss how the local process may fit your pending case.
Sources
Information checked 2026-11-11. General educational information; individual facts and current law matter.
If you are unsure whether to file a motion, speak up at the right hearing, or follow a local form, contact EV Häs, LLC Attorney at Law to discuss the process and your options.
Yes, in the sources I reviewed, a pending residential foreclosure case may be eligible for a request or motion asking the court to refer the matter to mediation, depending on the circuit’s local process PART 2.00 Judicial AdministrationMortgage Foreclosure ProgramPart 21 – Chancery Division Court-Annexed Mediation | Circuit Court of Cook County.
No. The materials I found do not show a universal statewide automatic right to mediation in every foreclosure case. They describe local circuit programs and local procedures instead PART 2.00 Judicial AdministrationPart 21 – Chancery Division Court-Annexed Mediation | Circuit Court of Cook County.
In the sources reviewed, yes. The 17th Judicial Circuit materials point to a motion or program form, and Cook County says a requesting party must present a written motion in a pending residential mortgage foreclosure mediation case PART 2.00 Judicial AdministrationMortgage Foreclosure ProgramPart 21 – Chancery Division Court-Annexed Mediation | Circuit Court of Cook County.
Cook County’s Chancery Division materials say a party requesting mediation in a pending residential mortgage foreclosure mediation case must present a written motion, and the county’s foreclosure-mediation pages describe asking the clerk or judge in an existing case Part 21 – Chancery Division Court-Annexed Mediation | Circuit Court of Cook County.
The 17th Judicial Circuit materials say a party to a pending residential foreclosure case may ask the court by motion to be entered into the mediation program, and the judge may also do so on the court’s own motion PART 2.00 Judicial AdministrationMortgage Foreclosure Program.
In the 17th Judicial Circuit materials, yes, the judge may enter the case into mediation on the court’s own motion PART 2.00 Judicial AdministrationMortgage Foreclosure Program. That does not remove the need for you to be ready to follow the local procedure if you want to ask directly.
Check whether your case is pending, identify the county’s foreclosure-mediation rule or program, and use the request method that court requires. If the local rule says motion, file a motion; if it says form, use the form PART 2.00 Judicial AdministrationMortgage Foreclosure ProgramPart 21 – Chancery Division Court-Annexed Mediation | Circuit Court of Cook County.
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